Early Childhood Education and Sustainable Community Development in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Early Childhood Education, Sustainable, Community Development, Rivers StateAbstract
The study examined the influence of early childhood education on sustainable community development in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Two objectives and two research questions, respectively, guided the study. The population of the study was 291, comprising 124 male and 167 female teachers in early childhood education centres in Emohua Local Government of Rivers State. The study used simple random sampling to select a sample of 178 respondents. The instrument for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire wwith a reliability index of 0.86. The study used mean and standard deviation for data analysis. The findings revealed that the number of early childhood education centres in Emohua Local Government Area is somewhat sufficient, but more centres would be appreciated, especially for more sustainable community development, as more students will likely be admitted. It was concluded that more centres would be appreciated for better sustainable community development; more students will be admitted if there are more early childhood education centres, as most students complain that the early childhood centres available in their community are very far from their residences. It was therefore recommended, among others, that emphasis on the establishment of more early childhood education centres in Emohua Local Government Area should be de-emphasised; books and practical activities materials should be made available to various education centres.
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